03014nas a2200325 4500008004100000020001400041245011200055210006900167260002900236300001200265490000700277520206400284653001402348653002302362653001702385653002102402653001402423653001602437653001102453653001002464653003402474653001702508653002002525653001402545653001402559653001702573100002602590700002802616856004402644 2011 eng d a1365-269900aBiogeography and the evolution of flightlessness in a radiation of Hawaiian moths (Xyloryctidae: Thyrocopa)0 aBiogeography and the evolution of flightlessness in a radiation  bBlackwell Publishing Ltd a101-1110 v383 aAim Although the ability to fly confers benefits to most insects, some taxa have become secondarily flightless. Insect flightlessness may be more likely to evolve in environments such as islands and other windswept and alpine areas, but this prediction has rarely been tested while controlling for phylogenetic effects. Here we present a phylogeny for the endemic Hawaiian Lepidoptera genus Thyrocopa, which has two flightless species that occur in alpine areas on Maui and Hawaii islands, in order to determine whether the flightless species are sister to each other or represent separate losses of flight. We also explore divergence times and biogeographic patterns of inter-island colonization in Thyrocopa, and present the first Hawaiian study to sample a genus from nine islands. Location The Hawaiian Islands. Methods The phylogeny is composed of 70 individuals (including 23 Thyrocopa species and 7 outgroup species) sequenced for portions of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I, elongation factor 1α and wingless genes, for a total of 1964 base pairs, and was estimated using both parsimony (paup*) and Bayesian inference (MrBayes). Divergence times were estimated using the beast software package. Results Our results indicate that two independent invasions of alpine habitats with concomitant loss of flight have occurred in Thyrocopa. Based on current taxon sampling, Thyrocopa colonized the Hawaiian Islands slightly before the formation of Kauai. In terms of overall patterns of diversification, subclades generally follow a progression from older to younger islands. The genus has the greatest number of species on Kauai, with species numbers generally decreasing with decreasing island age. Main conclusions Loss of flight ability has evolved twice in a short period of geological time in Thyrocopa, perhaps as a result of low temperatures, high winds and/or a lack of predation pressure. However, several other Thyrocopa species that live on small islands with consistently high winds, such as Necker and Nihoa islands, retain the ability to fly.10adispersal10aflightless insects10aGelechioidea10aisland evolution10aKahoolawe10aLEPIDOPTERA10aNecker10aNihoa10aNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands10aOecophoridae10aPacific Insects10aPhylogeny10aThyrocopa10aXyloryctidae1 aMedeiros, Matthew, J.1 aGillespie, Rosemary, G. uhttps://pacleps.myspecies.info/node/13402362nas a2200205 4500008004100000020001400041245008600055210006900141300001200210490000700222520175800229653000901987653002701996653001502023653001602038653002002054100001802074700002002092856004402112 2010 eng d a1365-269900aBiogeography and diversification of the Pacific ant genus Lordomyrma Emery0 aBiogeography and diversification of the Pacific ant genus iLordo a624-6340 v373 aAim†This study addresses the origins of terrestrial biodiversity of the Fijian islands using the ant genus Lordomyrma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) as a model system. We derive the evolution of the genus and determine its closest extra-Fijian relatives from geological data, molecular phylogenetic reconstruction and divergence estimates.Location† Ant taxa were sampled in the Southwest Pacific, Melanesia, Southeast Asia, Australia and mainland China.Methods† Phylogeny and divergence estimates of the ant genus Lordomyrma based on four nuclear genes (28S, ArgK, LW Rh, CAD) plus data on Indo-Pacific geological history are used to address current hypotheses regarding the origins of the Fijian biota.Results† The genus Lordomyrma probably originated in mainland Asia, with subsequent colonization of Australia and the Pacific. The Fijian Lordomyrma clade is monophyletic, and originated c.†8.8†Ma, when it diverged from a sister group in Papua New Guinea.Main conclusions† The colonization of Fiji by Lordomyrma is probably a result of long-distance dispersal from New Guinea, possibly aided by island hopping across the Vitiaz Arc. The timeline of diversification in Lordomyrma is broadly congruent with the Miocene fragmentation of the Vitiaz Arc and the Pliocene emergence of Vanua Levu. The biotic shuttle hypothesis, which posits 'Eua Island as the source of Fijian endemics, is rejected based on the sister relationship of Fiji and New Guinea lineages, as well as on the Miocene submergence of the terrane below sea level. The diversity of Fijian Lordomyrma results from the radiation of a single lineage, which diverged from a New Guinea sister group. The genus appears to have originated in Asia rather than in Australia.10aants10abiogeographic patterns10aFormicidae10aHYMENOPTERA10aPacific Insects1 aLucky, Andrea1 aSarnat, Eli, M. uhttps://pacleps.myspecies.info/node/12703541nas a2200433 4500008004100000020001400041245008900055210006900144300001200213490000700225520233200232653002302564653002002587653001502607653002302622653001702645653001902662653001002681653001502691653002102706653001902727653001602746653001402762653001102776653002302787653002002810653002002830653001702850653002502867653002002892653002802912653001602940653001602956100002202972700002002994700002203014700002803036856004303064 2013 eng d a1365-269900aPhytophagous insect community assembly through niche conservatism on oceanic islands0 aPhytophagous insect community assembly through niche conservatis a225-2350 v403 aAim To determine whether a community of phytophagous insects on oceanic islands (the fauna of insects feeding internally on Glochidion trees in south-eastern Polynesia) was assembled predominantly through niche conservatism or adaptive radiation. Location The islands of south-eastern Polynesia (southern Cook, Austral, Society, Tuamotu-Gambier and Marquesas archipelagos) in the Cook Islands and French Polynesia. Methods Internally feeding insects were collected as larvae from 23 endemic species of Glochidion (Euphorbiaceae s.l., Phyllanthaceae: Phyllanthus s.l.) trees on 20 islands in south-eastern Polynesia, reared and identified. Rearing records were compared with host records previously known from the literature and museum collections of closely related taxa in Asia and Australasia. Results Ninety per cent of insect specimens collected fall into five taxa previously known to attack Glochidion in Asia and Australasia (≥ 6000 km distant), indicating a strong role for niche conservatism in the assembly of this community. Three of these taxa, two seed-feeding moths (Gracillariidae: Epicephala; Tortricidae: Tritopterna) and a leaf-mining moth (Gracillariidae: Diphtheroptila) are only known from Phyllanthaceae or Euphorbiaceae s.l. on continents. Two more taxa, another leaf-mining moth (Gracillariidae: Caloptilia) and a leaf-rolling moth (Tortricidae: Dudua), contain many species known only from Phyllanthaceae on continents, and are also very likely to represent examples of niche conservatism. Conversely, many numerically dominant insect taxa known from Glochidion on continents (such as parasitoid Hymenoptera) are not reported from south-eastern Polynesia. This indicates that the insular community represents a subset of those taxa from the continental community, consistent with the well-established Pacific diversity gradient. Main conclusions These findings indicate that niche conservatism can play an important role in the assembly of phytophagous insect communities on oceanic islands, despite the constraints that specialization might be expected to pose on successful establishment. As a result of this niche conservatism, these communities may represent less species-rich versions of continental tropical communities rather than non-analogue insular ecosystems.10aadaptive radiation10aAustral Islands10aCaloptilia10acommunity assembly10aCook Islands10aDiphtheroptila10aDudua10aEpicephala10aFrench Polynesia10aGracillariidae10aLEPIDOPTERA10aMarquesas10aMoorea10aniche conservatism10aoceanic islands10aPacific Insects10aPhyllantheae10aphytophagous insects10aSociety Islands10asouth-eastern Polynesia10aTORTRICIDAE10aTritopterna1 aHembry, David, H.1 aOkamoto, Tomoko1 aMcCormack, Gerald1 aGillespie, Rosemary, G. uhttps://pacleps.myspecies.info/node/9302555nas a2200229 4500008004100000245010300041210006900144300001200213490000700225520188200232653001102114653002402125653001402149653002002163653001402183653002002197653001502217653001202232653001602244100002202260856004302282 2002 eng d00aBiogeography of spiders on remote oceanic islands of the Pacific: archipelagoes as stepping stones0 aBiogeography of spiders on remote oceanic islands of the Pacific a655-6620 v293 aAim The composition of species in any given island community may directly reflect the processes of immigration such that species on a more remote island comprise a nested subset of those on the nearest less remote land mass. Alternatively, new species can arise on islands by less frequent colonization but subsequent evolutionary differentiation. In the current study the species composition of spiders is examined in native communities on three remote oceanic archipelagoes to test hypotheses concerning the relative importance for species accumulation of (i) immigration from the nearest land mass, vs. (ii) in situ speciation. Location The study focuses on three volcanic hot-spot archipelagoes in the Pacific: the Hawaiian, Marquesas and Society Islands. Methods Tetragnatha spiders were collected from the three remote Pacific archipelagoes as well as Australasia and America. Sequences of mitochondrial DNA (Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16S ribosomal DNA) were obtained from the spiders and a phylogenetic approach was used to examine relatedness among island endemic lineages of spiders, as well as associations between species on different archipelagoes with continental congeners. Results Within archipelagoes, species groups are largely monophyletic. When species groups are compared between archipelagoes, those on one archipelago are never the sister group to those on another archipelago. Rather, each archipelago has a mainland congener as its closest sister group. Main conclusions First, colonization of the Hawaiian, Marquesas and Society archipelagoes by Tetragnatha spiders appears to have occurred independently, most likely in each case from a continental source, but not from the nearest archipelago. Secondly, in situ speciation has occurred in the Marquesas and Society Islands in a similar manner to that in Hawaii, although apparently on a smaller scale.10aHAWAII10aisland biogeography10aMarquesas10aPacific Insects10aradiation10aSociety Islands10aSPECIATION10aSpiders10aTetragnatha1 aGillespie, R., G. uhttps://pacleps.myspecies.info/node/6204828nas a2200325 4500008004100000020001400041245013600055210006900191300001200260490000700272520390700279653001004186653001004196653001304206653001104219653001604230653002004246653001104266653001504277653001604292100001804308700002004326700002404346700002004370700001804390700001604408700001704424700001904441856004204460 2002 eng d a0305-027000aAvailability of food resources, distribution of invasive species, and conservation of a Hawaiian bird along a gradient of elevation0 aAvailability of food resources distribution of invasive species  a789-8080 v293 aAim We evaluated how an elevation gradient affects: (1) the availability of food required by a specialist seed-eater, Loxioides bailleui Oustalet (Drepanidinae), or palila, and hence the distribution of this endangered Hawaiian bird, and (2) the distribution of alien threats to Loxioides populations, their primary foods, and their dry-forest habitat, and hence strategies for their conservation. Location We worked throughout the subalpine forest that encircles Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii Island, but we focused our studies mainly on the western slope between 2000 and 3000 m elevation, where the gradient of elevation was greatest and palila were most abundant. Methods We determined phenology and productivity patterns of the endemic dry-forest tree species, Sophora chrysophylla (Salisb.) Seem. (Fabaceae), or mamane, which provides Loxioides with most of their food, and another common endemic tree, Myoporum sandwicense A. Gray (Myoporaceae), or naio, which provides some resources, along a 786-m elevation gradient at monthly intervals for 10 years (Sophora only). We also determined the availability each month of moth larvae (Lepidoptera) for that were important in the diet of nestling and adult palila. In addition, we documented the incidence of parasitism on moth larvae by several wasp (Hymenoptera) and fly (Diptera) species, and we determined the distribution of predatory wasps and ants (Hymenoptera), which potentially threaten insect prey of birds. Percentage cover of alien grass species that pose fire threats in palila habitat and other weeds were assessed during one survey. Small mammal abundance and distribution were determined by trapping during three (rodent) or five (carnivore) surveys. Results Sophora flower and seed (pod) availability varied predictably along the elevation gradient, with about 4 months separating peaks in reproduction at high and low elevations. This, together with highly variable production of flowers and pods within elevation strata, resulted in Sophora resources being available to Loxioides throughout the year on the western slope of Mauna Kea. Sophora produced flowers and pods more seasonally where gradients of elevation were short; thus, resources were available less consistently. In contrast, Myoporum produced flowers and fruits with little variation with respect to season or elevation. The availability of important insect prey of Loxioides was also related to elevation, in part because threats to Lepidoptera larvae from parasitic wasps were generally less at higher elevations. Threats to insect prey from predatory ants was also less at higher elevations but the abundance of predatory wasps was not related to elevation. Several weeds that pose the most serious threats to Loxioides habitat were more abundant at mid and low elevations, and alien grass cover was somewhat greater at mid elevation, thereby increasing fire risks in the centre of Loxioides habitat. Predatory mammals, in particular Felis catus Linnaeus, were common throughout the subalpine forest of Mauna Kea. However, Rattus rattus Linnaeus was rare, especially at higher elevations, whereas Mus musculus Linnaeus was more abundant at lower elevations. Main conclusions Loxioides are concentrated in habitat that is distributed along a substantial gradient of elevation at least in part because food is available throughout the year and threats to food resources are less concentrated. To recover Loxioides elsewhere in its former range, habitats must be restored and alien threats reduced along extensive elevation gradients. Conservation along environmental gradients will likely benefit other Hawaiian birds that track the availability of food across landscapes or that have been stranded in the higher portions of their original ranges because of the greater impacts of alien diseases, predators, food competitors, and habitat stressors at lower elevations.10aBIRDS10aCYDIA10aFORAGING10aHAWAII10aLEPIDOPTERA10aPacific Insects10aPALILA10aPARASITISM10aTORTRICIDAE1 aBanko, P., C.1 aOboyski, P., T.1 aSlotterback, J., W.1 aDougill, S., J.1 aGoltz, D., M.1 aJohnson, L.1 aLaut, M., E.1 aMurray, T., C. uhttps://pacleps.myspecies.info/node/7